A Beautiful Face
by Rosaceae
Summary: The face of Dampé was not always so, here is his story...
1. Default Chapter

Well I'm back!!!! I returned home the other day from the beach! I was sad to discover that Chica has decided to leave Zelda. I hope she has just as much luck in the other categories. This is the first chapter of A Beautiful Face.

  
  


Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda. Sniffle.

  
  


A Beautiful Face

  
  


The night in Kakariko sweltered, as if a skeleton of the day; its long white bones slowly growing into ebony shadows. The intense fervor of a summer's eve pervaded the humid village, encircling the town within its fiery arms. Silence rang throughout the cobblestone streets with the absence of singing crickets, save the continuing creak of the windmill as its wings dipped and soared, piercing the sultry atmosphere. Abstract grays saturated the canopy overhead as the clouds seemed to stifle the wet grass. All was quiet.

All was dead.

Scattering shadows followed one another mischievously, flaunting their dark colors upon the sides of buildings and walls. A procession of murky figures silently glided onto the small grassy balcony before the small door of the windmill. The clique stopped, meandering in front of the entrance. A spark shot up into the air, breaking the black porcelain of the night.

Then another. And another.

Before long, a gathering of flaming torches filled the air, crackling and popping into the silence. The mass of shadows began to form itself into coherent shapes, revealing the physiques of men. One tawny man hoisted his torch into the moist air, waving it to and fro with a wild madness. The flame threw its fiery passion onto the earthen wall of the windmill. His hoarse voice broke the midnight mien, shattering the crystalline tranquility.

"Old man Dampé!"

No answer.

"Why you yellowbelly...I say, open the door!" The man's voice lost the confidence that his heated anger had once provided.

Still no answer.

Suddenly the blades of the mill came to a creaking stop. A candle flickered into life as a silhouette moved slowly into the small window of the windmill. Sparks leapt from the candle, licking the wooden sill. A raspy voice called out to the mob below, mocking their presence. 

"And what do I owe this pleasant surprise? Hmm.."

"You, you...Because of you and your damned windmill, our children are ill. Your wretched wizardry has cursed us all." Retorted the man.

"Because of your ignorance, the whole village has been blasphemed with idiocy. To believe a single man is responsible for a spreading epidemic of disease is not only ridiculous...it is an outrage!" Dampé's soft pleasant face contorted into a dismal scowl.

"Never..." The man searched the faces of his fellow men and nodded solemnly. "Your treachery will not go unpunished. Defiance shall get its just reward. Burn in hell, Dampé."

With that, the man hurled the raging torch onto the slanting roof of the building, as every shingle caught ablaze. In no time, the windmill was merely a burning mass of wood, as the arms of the mill turned in flaming fury. The men shouldered a large crate against the uneven door of the mill, disabling Dampé's escape. The fire licked at the sky, creating a smoky haze across the town of Kakariko.

Dampé's screams of pain became breaths of wind into the night.

Minutes passed like hours, and hours like days. A neighboring house became alive with candlelight, as an elderly woman feebly walked onto her veranda. Her eyes became wide with shock as she witnessed the downfall of the windmill. Sliding her small feet into slippers, she stealthily advanced the ladder hidden to the side of the mill. Through a haze of smoke, she

blindly searched the blazing flames of the fire for the unfortunate man, her skin becoming blackened with burns. Her hands achieving purchase, she flaccidly withdrew a cloaked man, and shoved him down the ladder in time to save him from a falling beam. Unfortunately, the beam struck her across her weak back, killing her instantly as her body became engulfed by

the fiery rage.

The mass of clothing moaned. Dampé lurched onto his charred back, wincing with an unforgettable pain. Regret seared his gray eyes as realization burned itself into his conscience. Why did his face hurt so much? As he ran his leathered fingers down his slender face, he could feel a difference in his once handsome visage. There were more grooves and catches in his features than he had remembered. An aching tenderness shot through his body as he unwillingly beheld the horror on his fingers.

Blood.

Throwing his head back in anguish, he released a shriek of remorse, like the moan of a wounded animal. His state of distress echoed through the earthen walls of Kakariko, embedding itself in the very milieu. 

The mob of men below the windmill congregated in a apprehensive silence. They were waiting for closure to the fear instilled in every mind. The torches began to flicker and die as the gargantuan fire before them only began to rise. 

Hate was fueling the fire.

Dampé clumsily arose from the dew-dappled grass that reflected the burning rage and stumbled unknowingly to the horde of men, as their torches grew darker, darker...

"Do you deem him dead?" One feeble man inquired.

"We shall see...we shall see..."

A sudden rustling in the grass before them sent the group into a deathly silence.

"You..." Growled a voice. "You shall regret the day you were born..."

Dampé amassed his enormous arms into the hazy air, creating a panic amongst the men.

"The ghost of Dampé!" The group scattered.

As the light of the blaze rested its sight upon his face, the mob leapt back, gasping in horror.

"His face..."

"Kill the monster!" The horde brought forth pitchforks and items of torture as Dampé's face became one of terror.

He wildly broke through the group, knocking down man after man, making his way down the grass slope. Dampé could hear the fast approaching men, perhaps bringing his death as well. Bombarding through the passageway to the Royal Family Graveyard, he stopped by a cauldron of newly fallen rainwater. As he gazed into his reflection, a look of wild rage and grief spread like a web across his features. 

"My face! No!"

The reminder of quick pursuers sent him hobbling down the path to the graveyard. As he entered the sanctum, a calm silence momentarily filled his heart with peace. 

But then it fled. 

"There, the beast!" A man sent his pitchfork flying in Dampé's direction as he barely slid under the gate before the graves in time.

"You would not dare break sanctuary of the Royal Family Graveyard. The King would have your heads for it. The spirits of the past haunt this place, _anything_ is possible!" Damp slowly crouched behind a large headstone.

"Coward! We shall return. You will never survive out here, never!" The mob reluctantly turned around and left the graveyard.

Dampé let a sigh escape his lips as he fell to the ground in tears. He rested his head in his hands, sobbing with regret.

"My face...my face..." 

He was alone, moaning into the stillness, as the break of dawn released its arrays of colors into the hazy village, bringing forth reds and oranges against the reflection of the raging flames.

  
  


-Rosaceae

  
  


Well, it's not as good as I wanted it to be. Oh well, DAMN it's good to be home! I hope everyone had a great and safe 4th! Please review.


	2. To Take Another

--@Aloha! It's been quite a while since I've added any chapters to this story. But anyway, school's about to start for me and that really really REALLY sucks. Ok, now referring back to the last two fics I've done: Whoops. All authors make mistakes, and those are my few of many. MANY. I have another migraine but I really needed to submit a second chapter of "A Beautiful Face." I have volleyball tryouts for my highschool's team, so wish me luck(I'LL NEED IT) by sending an email at lllrosaceaelll@yahoo.com, pwease? Anyway, ON WITH THE SHOW...@--

  
  


Disclaimer: I wish I did...*sob*

  
  


A Beautiful Face Chapter II- To Take Another

  
  


The wet grass clung like a frightened child to his pale skin as he arose from the earthen bed. His gaze had become clouded from the night's restless slumber. In his tire mind, Dampé could still feel the raging flames lick hungrily at his flesh as the blaze began engulfing his exhausted form. And now, a fire burned within him as well, toiling and twisting in its own heated dance.

As Dampé ran his parched tongue across unsmiling lips, the metallic taste of dry blood invaded his mouth. Horrifying scenes from last night's massacre fled with swift wings into his head as he lifted reluctant fingers to caress his distorted features. 

Once again he felt the tender burns and skin lesions embedded as unforgettable scars from the past beneath his cold fingertips; scars he now wished for time to pass her healing hand over. But no tears would release their stubborn grasp from his eyes, not yet. Dampé still had hope that these dreadful visions were only a cruel nightmare sent by the Goddesses. 

Finally, he let his starving eyes engorge themselves in the unbecoming surroundings. A hazy mist had devoured the graveyard, as an aftermath of the fiery night, only enabling a few headstones to tear through the silk-like fog. The sanctuary was at peace, much unlike the night before. Dampé oddly found this place becalming to the spirit, for there were no enemies, no spite. Those in which who had held such contempt within their hearts lived no longer, because they had already given their breath and life to the Goddesses. Oh, how he wished that the exalted Maidens would breathe their beauty and vigor through his blackened lungs! Alas, even the innocent shall burn. 

A red glow had penetrated much of the azure sky of Hyrule as the remnants of the smoky haze fought to remain as part of the midday canopy overhead. The once golden land had now become encased within the eminence of a ruby sky. A rosy hue had replaced the white in the feathery clouds that lingered on the warm breeze. In the air, there was still the faint fragrance of smoke and ash. All of this beauty had shown the blindest of men that there is peace after battle. Even the bloodiest. 

Dampé staggered with uncertain feet into the streets of Kakariko, burying himself beneath the many folds of frayed clothing. He was nonchalantly passed by numerous people as they flocked to the charred mass of wood that had once been the Windmill, taking no apparent notice of the cloaked horror. The elderly could only shake their heads in disappointment, knowing that the building had become another innocent victim of human ignorance and hate, the most dreaded of enemies. The young stood in awe, gawking at the destruction that had flowered its crucial petals in the village of Kakariko.

Dampé overheard one man's words prevail above the clamor of other voices.

"I believe it for the better. That damned hermit, Dampé, was a curse among us all."

"But the Windmill, _look_ at it." A woman said.

"It can be rebuilt. Things _can_ be rebuilt. But _he_ will plague us no longer." The man's voice held an air of vile disgust.

There were no children to behold the unnerving display of human hatred, because a spreading epidemic had claimed many of their lives over the past couple months. Their hearty laughter no longer became the enlightening breeze that blew through Hyrule. Childhood toys lay unused on the sodden ground as dreams for the future become past disappointments. When a child dies, many things go with it as well. No family escaped that plague without losing something, be it from sight to their very own life.

And the blame of a nation lay solely on Dampé.

That which people cannot comprehend will become their worst enemy, because ignorance is a killer. It is considered a deficiency of pride, and nobody wants that. Dampé was unknown to the world of Hyrule, so inevitably, they could not trust him. Because he was an enigmatic man, Kakarikans and Hylians alike deemed him supernatural and demonic.

He had lived and maintained the Windmill, before it had been consumed by flames, rarely revealing his handsome face to the public eye. But no one disturbed him, and he had never become a nuisance to Kakariko. That was before Hyrule's plague.

Before the bitterness...

Medical knowledge in Hyrule was little and vivid, and altogether unavailable to its citizens. So every epidemic and illness was dubbed incurable as a work of witchcraft, even a sore throat or headache. And every time, it was hurriedly lay to blame on the nearest recluse. This time, it had unfortunately been Dampé. And there was no way to escape that fate.

"And so the beast shall burn." The man said, once again breaking the stillness.

The man had never had children, nor did he have the love in his heart to possess a wife. And yet, the plague had struck him as well, causing his left leg to become lame. Because he escaped the epidemic with only minor losses, his fellow Kakarikans were appalled by the fortunate outcome that such a miserable man had received from the passing sickness. Shunned by his own people, the man turned to the alternative of blaming the faultless Dampé for everybody's pain. In return, the people were too afraid to question, so they focused their anger upon the poor keeper of the Windmill. In their eyes, he _had_ to die.

_But not like this_, some would say, referring to the disaster that had befallen the village. This had been a ruthless death. No one deserved that. 

As Dampé heard the man's voice, a flash of recognization had flashed across his countenance as well as remembrance. He knew this man. Dampé recalled to the night before, when fire had threatened his very life. The pieces were beginning to come together of the man's face, the same man's face who had just spoke.

_Burn in hell, Dampé._

His already horrific face became even more twisted as relentless anger radiated through his body. _This_ was the man who had ruined Dampé's life _forever._ No longer would Dampé's face look human because of him. He was the one who had set fire to the Windmill, his home, and it was because of this man's ignorance that Dampé would never be the same.

Dampé's hood flew back in an explosion of wild rage as his face was brandished to the world. A woman screeched in terror. Issuing forth as howl like a wound beast, Dampé came barreling towards the man at full speed, knocking him down. The townsfolk leapt back, trembling for their own poor souls as Dampé threw the man about. He tore through him like a wolf, holding back _nothing._ Dampé had become a pitiless, cold-blooded killer. He slammed the man up against the stonewall, causing a trickle of blood to become a river of scarlet flowing from the man's mouth.

And then, in a last moment of exasperation, Dampé sent the man hurtling helplessly down the seemingly bottomless well. There was no water to break his fall.

It was empty. Nothing but hard, merciless stone. 

A sickening thud echoed throughout the well into the village of Kakariko, spreading thickly over the silenced crowd. The woman screeched again, but this time, not at Dampé's face. The air grew tense with fear as the people choked on their wordless tongues. Dampé flailed about , thirsting for more blood as he stumbled closer and closer towards the group.

"See? _Do you see?!_" His voice scraped the air with raspy words. "That man brought it amongst himself! Do you wish the same?"

The villagers took a step back in response. No.

The slightest wind could be heard whispering as the two opposing forces stood face to face. Dampé was clearly outnumbered, but his fuming passion greatly intimidated them. As he began to breathe more quietly, his pace became slower and clumsy. His performance came to an abrupt stop.

"Y-You monster! What have you done?!" Said the woman who had screamed earlier.

Dampé squinted accusationally at the woman, frightening her with a mere glance. She was quieted immediately by her fellow Kakarikans. But the question still stood.

_What had he done?_

"Well then? Answer, fiend!" Another woman yelled. 

He was at a loss for words as the crowd began growing braver. A block of wood was sent flying at his head, causing a small dribble of blood to blind his right eye. The people laughed. At him. A monster.

They were smiling at death.

"Why is it that what you have done is any better than what he had done?" Asked a man who was pointing at the well.

"You killed a man, Dampé. He had not." One by one, each person put in their accusatory comment.

"And where is old lady Hoja?"

The crowd stopped. Dampé's eyes widened as he thought back to the night before. An old woman had tried, no, she had _saved_ his life during the fire. But she had died. _Was that her?_ His heart was about to burst as he realized the truth. Dampé was responsible for not one, but _two_ lives. He backed away from the crowd, suddenly frightened of their numbers. Dampé turned and ran towards the entrance into Hyrule Field as the villagers cursed him with derogatory terms. He stumbled down the passageway of steps, shaking his head in disbelief.

He plummeted to the ground, sick with defeat as his tears were finally released. He had killed a man. And an innocent woman had died because of _him._ His fists clenched around a small clump of grass, tearing it from its home.

"No, no...no it is _not true_...how can this be?" With head in hands, his sobs shattered the day's peaceful zest of Hyrule Field. He was a killer.

And this was _not_ a dream.

  
  


-Rosaceae

  
  


--@Like it? Hate it? Let me KNOW! But very politely please! Aaww, poor Dampé. There will be more chapters coming, so keep up. Also, read my other stories and let me know what you think. Ack...head...hurts...Blame it on Dampé...I'm gonna go down a bottle of aspirin! ^_^Have a nice day!@-- 


End file.
